A bit of (recent) history: the PlayStation 3 was the first gaming console ever to host user-generated content, thanks to Unreal Tournament 3. Afterwards, Sony has backed down a little, and Nintendo announced its WiiWare that will basically be the Steamworks for the Wii. As you can see, the Xbox 360 was the big absent and it was only a matter of time until Microsoft decided to do something. The time is now.

To be more specific, Microsoft plans to make user-created Xbox 360 games available for download through the console's online service - and it is expected that this new service will double the size of MS's game library within one year (double it with some poor quality games, we would dare to predict).

In order to develop and distribute games via the Xbox Live service, game creators will have to use Microsoft's XNA Game Studio software which costs $99 per year, or be an XNA Creators Club member. The Club Members will also be able to enter the beta testing phase of this project, which is scheduled to begin this spring, with the full release expected this holiday season.

Different from what the game giants usually do, Microsoft said that it will give students free access to its video game development program, XNA Game Studio 2.0. Also, MS plays the "good guy" in this movie, stating that "the time has come for the games industry to open its doors to all game creators, enabling anyone to share their creations with the world".

Anyway, this is, undoubtedly, a great opportunity for indie game developers to create some great Xbox 360 games and prove their worth to bigger developers or even publishers. But, since Microsoft "forgot" to say if the games developed for their yet to be named project will be distributed for free or not. If the first option is the right one, they might have some problems, as independent game creator Phil Fish said: "I wouldn't like to give a year of work away just because Microsoft allows us to do it."